Lighting fixture



y 7, .9 3 E. M. CAFERRO 3,089,026

' LIGHTING. FIXTURE Filed Oct. 50, 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. Edward M. Caferra y 1963 E. M. CAFERRO M 3,089,026

LIGHTING FIXTURE Filed Oct. 30, 1961 .2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Edward M. Caferra m FM A ttys.

United States Patent 3,082,026 LIGHTING FIXTURE Edward M. Caferro, Spokane, Wash, assignor to Columbia Electric & Manufacturing Company, Spokane, Wash, a corporation of Washington Filed Oct. 30, 1961, Ser. No. 148,475 3 Claims. (Cl. 240-5111) The present invention relates to a novel lighting fixture designed to be pre-wired at the manufacturing factory.

The evolution of fluorescent lighting fixtures has created a demand for a system of components which may be adapted to custom installations. Normally such installations, whether in new or remodeled buildings, include a ceiling lighting assembly which is covered by one of many various forms of false ceilings designed to allow the effective transmission of light to the room below. This system therefore allows the use of modular lighting units which need not be decorative in themselves. The main criteria for such a fixture is case in fabrication and ease in installation.

The present invention concerns itself with each of these last two problems. It contemplates a lighting fixture assembled from a minimum of common components. The most important feature is the utilization of factory wiring. By this provision, the electrical components of the lighting fixture are entirely wired at the factory, making full utilization of modern methods of mass production to elfect savings in time and insuring more uniform quality in the final product. The invention also concerns itself with savings in transportation by providing a completely pre-wired unit which is capable of being shipped in a knocked-down form so as to save on freight bulk. It facilitates installation by the fact that it is pre-wired and by the fact that each modular unit may be readily assembled at the site on which it is to be mounted without the necessity of special tools or skills.

It is a first object of this invention to provide a modular lighting fixture which can be completely pre-wired and which may be shipped in a knocked-down form which is relatively small in relation to the size of the installed unit.

It is another object of this invention to provide such a unit in as simple a form as possible. No special tools or skills are required in order to set up the fixture for proper installation.

These and other objects will be evident from a study of the accompanying drawings and the following description which describe a preferred form of the invention. This form is exemplary and is not intended to limit the scope of this invention which obviously may extend to many various types of fixtures.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a lighting fixture illustrating both the installation and fabrication of the final unit;

FIGURE 2 is a vertical sectional view taken through a fixture channel adjacent one of the supporting conduit spacers;

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary vertical section view taken through one of the conduit spacers mounted on a fixture channel;

FIGURE 4 is a top view of a lighting fixture constructed according to the present invention, showing the conduit spacers and lamps in place; and

FIGURE 5 is a sectional view taken through line 5-5 in FIGURE 2 at an enlarged scale.

The lighting fixture constructed according to this invention is a modular unit designed particularly for custom ceiling installations. The fixture itself has a purely utilitarian function in the proper mounting of the lamps which are to be erected above a false ceiling. A typical fixture is illustrated in FIGURE 1. It utilizes a basic rectangular shape which may be repeated across a ceiling as desired. The fixture includes a pair of parallel spaced channels 10 formed of sheet metal and including opposed vertical sides 11. The channels are provided with typical mounting flanges 12 adapted to facilitate the positioning of the channels on the supporting ceiling structure. The flanges 12 may be replaced by any suitable type of mounting bracket. Each channel 10 has mounted thereon a plurality of pairs of conventional lamp sockets 13. Each pair of sockets 13 is designed to mount a fluorescent lamp between them. These sockets 13 are of conventional design and may include the necessary starters or other circuitry required for proper functioning of the fixture. A fluorescent lighting fixture also requires a conventional ballast assembly designated as 14. The position of this ballast is illustrated in the top view shown in FIGURE 4. The ballast is located within the side channels 10 rather than at a central position as is conventional in most fixtures.

The basic concept of this invention is to provide a completely pre-Wired fixture which is capable of being shipped in a knocked-down condition and which may be easily prepared for installation at its final site. In order to accomplish this end, the vertical sides 11 are provided with circular apertures which receive a fitting having a cylindrical sleeve 16 extending outwardly from the sides 11. The sleeve 16 terminates inwardly at an exterior radial shoulder 17 which abuts the outer surface of the side 11 on the channel 10 on which it is mounted. The interior end of the fitting is provided with a threaded section 18 on which is threadably engaged a lock nut 20 adapted to abut the inner surface of the respective side 11. Thus the compressive engagement of lock nut 20 and shoulder 17 serves to effectively fix the fitting relative to the channel 10.

The factory assembly of the lighting fixture includes the installation of the fittings plus the ballast 14 and the necessary lamp sockets 13. It also includes the installation of a complete wiring harness including interconnecting wiring 15 which is extended through the fitting sleeves 16 of aligned apertures on the two opposed sides 11. The wiring 15 completes the necessary circuits between the electrical components mounted on each of the channels 10. The length of the wires is sufficient to insure the proper spacing of the two channels 10. The fixture is then shipped in a knocked-down form with the two channels 10 not rigidly interconnected. The remaining portions of the fixture may be shipped independently so as to enable one to provide a shipping package which is extremely compact compared with the product to be installed at the site.

The fixture is completed at the site by the installation of conduit spacers 21 which structurally connect the two channels '10. Each spacer comprises a pair of identical elements 22. The elements 22 have a substantially semicylindrical cross section and are positioned about the outer periphery of aligned fitting sleeves 16 with one element 22 being inverted relative to the other. The elements 22 are each provided with longitudinal edges 23 and 24. The edges 23 and 24 are complementary to one another and are designed to allow the two elements 22 to be rigidly interconnected along the edges 23, 24 by a simple compressive force being exerted against the two opposed elements 2.2. The particular cross sectional configuration utilized in the preferred embodiment of this invention is illustrated in FIGURE 5. This configuration provides an extremely efiective seal and cannot be readily pried apart, once assembled. The elements 22 can be easily manufactured by an extrusion process.

Each element 22 is provided with an aperture 25 adja- 26 and apertures 25 prevents the conduit spacers 21 from moving longitudinally or rotationally relative to the fittings on which it is mounted. Thus the fixture, when assembled, attains a relatively rigid stature and is completely ready for installation with but a few minutes of preparation. The conduit spacers 21 serve a double purpose in enclosing the wiring 15 and also as structural spacers to locate the respective positions of the channels 10. The simple interconnection provided between the fitting sleeves 16 and the conduit spacers 21 provides an accurate method of assembling the final fixture structure.

After the conduit spacers 21. are locked between the channels 10 the fixture may be completed by the installation of conventional reflectors 27 between the channels 10 and the installation of the necessary lamps 28 between the sockets 13. It is not necessary to disturb the factory wiring in any manner. This provision insures the proper wiring connections between the many components in the two channels 10 and eliminates the chance of error at the job site. The combination of increased wiring efiiciency and decreased shipping costs makes this form of lighting fixture exceptionally attractive from a manufacturers viewpoint. The fixture components may be manufactured at a relatively low cost and the use of factory mass production in assembling the electrical parts of the fixture reduces its final installation cost.

The form of the fixture illustrated in the drawings is merely one example of a fixture including the concepts of this invention. The relative size and shape of the channels 110 and spacers 21 may obviously be changed without deviating from these basic concepts. Other forms of'interlocking edges may be utilized on the spacers 21 so long as a longitudinally split conduit spacer is utilized so as to allow the enclosure of wire 15 after being factory pre-wired and shipped in a knocked-down condition. The channels 10 may obviously be changed to accommodate the type and number of lamps desired. For these reasons the description of this embodiment is not intended to restrict the extent of my invention which is defined in the claims which follow.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. A ceiling fluorescent lighting fixture comprising:

a pair of parallel fixture channels adapted to be supported on a ceiling structure, each pair of channels including opposed vertical sides spaced from one another and provided with aligned pairs of open apertures;

tubular fittings fixed to said channels and extending out Wardly therefrom through said apertures;

aligned pairs of lamp sockets for fluorescent lamps fixed to the channels, each pair of sockets being adapted to receive a lamp therebetween;

a ballast mounted within one of said channels;

a pre-assembled wiring harness including said pairs of lamp sockets and said ballast and interconnecting wiring extending across the separation between each pair of channels, said interconnecting wiring being located across aligned pairs of apertures on said channels and through the fittings mounted therein;

individual conduit spacers mounted on the fittings in each aligned pair of apertures in coaxial relation thereto, said spacers being longitudinally split throughout their length, said interconnecting wiring being surrounded by the assembled conduit spacers, the split edges of said conduit spacers being provided with interlocking means adapted to lock the edges to one another when assembled;

and positioning means operatively connecting each of said conduit spacers and the fittings on which it is mounted adapted to prevent longitudinal or rotational motion of said conduit spacer relative to the respective fittings.

2. A fixture as defined in claim 1 wherein each of said fittings comprises:

an open tubular sleeve having an exterior shoulder abutting the outer surface of the vertical channel side on which the fitting is mounted;

an exteriorly threaded section on the fitting adjacent the shoulder and extending within the channel;

and a lock nut threada-bly engaged on said threaded section abutting the inner surface of the vertical channel side on which the fitting is mounted;

said positioning means comprising a radially projecting pin fixed to the exterior of said sleeve and received within a complementary opening on the conduit spacer mounted thereon, the split edges of said conduit spacers being locked to one another.

3. A fixture as defined in claim 1 wherein each conduit spacer comprises: 7

a pair of identical longitudinal elements having a generally semi-cylindrical cross section, the longitudinal edges of each element being complementary when said sections are positioned opposite to one another with one of said elements being inverted, the edges of the elements being securely fastened to one another throughout their lengths, thereby presenting a fully enclosed receptacle for said interconnecting wiring.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,189,208 Hodkinson June 27, 1916 2,632,096 Kachale et al Mar. 17, 1953 2,740,885 Kruger Apr. 3, 1956 2,826,680 Cline Mar. 11, 1958 

1. A CEILING FLUORESCENT LIGHTING FIXTURE COMPRISING: A PAIR OF PARALLEL FIXTURE CHANNELS ADAPTED TO BE SUPPORTED ON A CEILING STRUCTURE, EACH PAIR OF CHANNELS INCLUDING OPPOSED VERTICAL SIDES SPACED FROM ONE ANOTHER AND PROVIDED WITH ALIGNED PAIRS OF OPEN APERTURES; TUBULAR FITTINGS FIXED TO SAID CHANNELS AND EXTENDING OUTWARDLY THEREFROM THROUGH SAID APERTURES; ALIGNED PAIRS OF LAMP SOCKETS FOR FLOURESCENT LAMPS FIXED TO THE CHANNELS, EACH PAIR OF SOCKETS BEING ADAPTED TO RECEIVE A LAMP THEREBETWEEN; A BALLAST MOUNTED WITHIN ONE OF SAID CHANNELS; A PRE-ASSEMBLED WIRING HARNESS INCLUDING SAID PAIRS OF LAMP SOCKETS AND SAID BALLAST AND INTERCONNECTING WIRING EXTENDING ACROSS THE SEPARATION BETWEEN EACH PAIR OF CHANNELS, SAID INTERCONNECTING WIRING BEING LOCATED ACROSS ALIGNED PAIRS OF APERTURES ON SAID CHANNELS AN THROUGH THE FITTINGS MOUNTED THEREIN; INDIVIDUAL CONDUIT SPACERS MOUNTED ON THE FITTINGS IN EACH ALIGNED PAIR OF APERTURES IN COAXIAL RELATION THERETO, SAID SPACERS BEING LONGITUDINALLY SPLIT THROUGHOUT THEIR LENGTH, SAID INTERCONNECTING WIRING BEING SURROUNDED BY THE ASSEMBLED CONDUIT SPACERS, THE SPLIT EDGES OF SAID CONDUIT SPACERS BEING PROVIDED WITH INTERLOCKING MEANS ADAPTED TO LOCK THE EDGES TO ONE ANOTHER WHEN ASSEMBLED; AND POSITIONING MEANS OPERATIVELY CONNECTING EACH OF AND CONDUIT SPACERS AND THE FITTINGS ON WHICH IT IS MOUNTED ADAPTED TO PREVENT LONGITUDINAL OR ROTATIONAL MOTION OF SAID CONDUIT SPACER RELATIVE TO THE RESPECTIVE FITTINGS. 